Washington Post Acknowledges Error in Agriprocessors Story

Washington Post
Saturday, July 29, 2006; B08

A Religion News Service article that ran July 15 and recounted a story published by the Forward newspaper about Agriprocessors Inc. contained several inaccuracies that were not in the Forward's article.

The Forward's article reported on claims by workers and others of abusive working conditions at the Postville, Iowa, slaughterhouse and the company's denial of those claims.

The Forward and RNS noted that Agriprocessors' slaughter techniques had been the subject of a 2004 undercover video by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's investigation of the company for alleged violations of the Humane Slaughter Act was concluded last year, and the U.S. attorney's office declined to prosecute.

RNS said the USDA had released a report finding violations of the act, but the document -- an investigator's internal memo-- actually had been obtained by PETA through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The news service also reported that animal welfare expert Temple Grandin had not been allowed to visit the Agriprocessors facility in the wake of the video, but Grandin had visited the plant as a paid consultant to Agriprocessors in June of this year and said that what she saw then was working very well.

Also, RNS reported that a PETA spokesman said Agriprocessors refused to allow inspectors to verify that it changed its slaughter techniques. But Agriprocessors spokesman Mike Thomas said the facility had passed four audits by outside animal-treatment auditors in the past year, and USDA personnel are at the facility every day it is in operation.

Although community members and others have claimed that Agriprocessors' work force is largely undocumented, Thomas said all prospective employees are required to document their immigration status.

The RNS article reported that Agriprocessors, with six citations, accounted for more than half the violations cited this year at Iowa meatpacking plants by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA statistics, however, show there were 15 citations at the four plants inspected so far, making Agriprocessors' share less than half.

-- Religion News Service